Some data storage systems include complex arrangements of storage disk arrays, configuration management interfaces, and storage processors. A system administrator faces many choices in making adjustments to the configuration of a data storage system in response to changing conditions, many of them resulting in suboptimal performance. Along these lines, the system administrator may seek advice with regard to provisioning additional storage when a storage processor generates an alert that the available storage on a particular storage disk array has fallen below a threshold.
Conventional configuration advisory tools for data storage systems use standalone applications that employ a set of heuristics based on historical configuration and failure event data. Along these lines, suppose that a data storage system needs to be configured to support a certain quantum of work of a given characteristic (called a “workload”). A system administrator will either contact a support center, which will use a standalone tool, or use a standalone tool himself. The tool will take the input characteristics of the workload, and consulting the set of heuristics that it is supplied with, will provide advice on how to configure the data storage system.